Volkswagen is working on an overhauled version of the ID.3. The company calls it the new ID.3 but it’s actually a facelift for the electric hatch with comprehensive hardware and software improvements. In order to secure the production of the refreshed ID.3 – and not only – Volkswagen has just announced a huge investment in its main plant in Wolfsburg.
By the beginning of 2025, the German automaker will invest somewhere around €460 million in the Wolfsburg factory, a figure that currently equals around $485 at today’s exchange rates. The facelifted ID.3 will start rolling off the assembly lines in Wolfsburg from 2023 initially in what VW describes as partial production. Manufacturing at full pace is expected to kick off the next year and ramp-up is planned for completion by the middle of the decade.
Gallery: 2023 Volkswagen ID.3 facelift teasers
In its official press release for the media, Volkswagen also mentions a new electric SUV. It is also going to be produced at the company’s Wolfsburg plant and will be based on an updated version of the MEB platform called the MEB+. We don’t know much about it but from VW’s words, we believe it will be positioned in the compact segment.
“That is the largest vehicle segment worldwide, it is home to our popular Tiguan. The new model would ideally complement our bestselling ID.4 and ID.5. This is how we intend to expand our market position further and give our customers the high-quality vehicles they expect from us,” Volkswagen brand CEO Thomas Schäfer says.
The MEB+ architecture mentioned above, Volkswagen promises, will offer faster charging speeds and longer ranges at a single charge. The battery cells that are going to be used in the future e-SUV and in other models are going to be produced at the company’s Salzgitter factory. We will soon have a separate article detailing the new MEB+ platform that should have a range of up to 435 miles.
Back to the Wolfsburg investment, Volkswagen says it will also ensure the production of the Trinity vehicle, which will be based on the so-called Scalable Systems Platform (SSP). As a refresher, Volkswagen will delay the launch of that electric machine until the end of the decade due to software problems.
